Switzerland’s PrivatAir will lease one of its three BBJs to Lufthansa from June 17, to be used on non-stop flights between Dusseldorf and New York.

“As far as we know, this is the first time an airline has introduced a business jet on a long haul

flight,” said Privatair spokesperson, Aurelie Branchereau.

The 48-seat aircraft had previously been dedicated to private charter customers, including football teams and rock stars, according to the company.

Although Lufthansa will maintain the aircraft, under the wet lease agreement Privatair will provide both aircraft and crew.

“The cooperation with PrivatAir will allow us to accomodate customer demand for a non-stop connection from North Rhine-Westphalia to New York and we are delighted to be able to serve the route economically with a partner airline,” said Lufthansa’s executive vice president of sales, Thierry Antinori.

The ongoing arrangement will allow the service to be operated daily, except for Tuesdays.

Despite the advantages such a deal offers PrivatAir, the company says it has no plans to utilise its other Boeing Business Jets in a similar manner.

“The company is commited to private charter, which is a completely different market and there is still a strong demand for this service,” said Branchereau.